I read Land is a Big Deal by Lars A. Doucet on March 22, 2025

Land is a Big Deal is kind of like The Deficit Myth but for Georgism.

I'm a big fan of Georgism! I like a lot of the principles of socialism but it drives me crazy how so many leftists don't critique homeownership, and seem to implicitly embrace land speculation when it's done by individuals. They get angry when Blackstone owns houses, but if their parents made a killing buying a house in a NIMBY-dominated town and selling it for a premium because of the supply crisis - it's good and natural, because land is not capital, in the Marxist framework. Georgism contains an understanding of land that to me better reflects reality and leads to more effective policies.

Reading this did make me realize how some of my favorite economic philosophies are in conflict if you take the full interpretation of them.

• Full MMT (as in the Deficit Myth) thinking would say that generating a lot of tax revenue through a Land Value Tax is unnecessary because the government can use deficit spending by default and only adjust taxes and interest rates to control inflation or intentionally redistribute wealth.
• Piketty’s Capital argues for a full, all-encompassing wealth tax, and it does somewhat draw a distinction between financial assets and land assets.

But I'm not a professional economist nor am I in charge of anything, so this doesn't matter that much: I like all of these philosophies for different reasons.

This book also forces you think about the political leanings of Georgists. The blurbs on the back were kind of shocking: Vitalik Buterin (Ethereum), Richard Florida (the 'creative class' coiner), and Noah Smith, who has drifted toward the political right recently. Plus it quotes some very right libertarians who liked Georgism. It's concerning!

I enjoyed this book a lot. Georgism appeals to people like me who like unified systems with simple principles that 'just require a bunch of math to figure out'. I think it is moderately successful at being an influential text to introduce new people to Georgist thinking.

Henry George in his time was an enormously popular figure. He was able to talk about his pretty sophisticated theory in a way that resonated with all kinds of political elements. Honestly, I don't see that kind of movement coming out of this book: it's too wonky. It probably isn't intended to be a persuasive text for the common reader. I hope something like that does get written soon, because Georgism deserves another shot.